McLaren GT teased ahead of official unveiling

McLaren has begun to tease its upcoming Grand Tourer, which has been rather creatively dubbed the GT, ahead of its official unveiling planned for next week. 

The all-new model is slated to be simply an addition to the McLaren lineup, rather than a replacement for any of its existing supercars, with the intention of it being to mix some of the supercar elements that the company has finessed into a traditional mile-munching GT car.

Intended to be a rival to its fellow Brits the Aston Martin DB11 and the Bentley Continental GT, the new McLaren GT is set to feature an iteration of the company’s familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 similar to that found in the 720S mounted in the middle of its carbon-fibre tub.

And yes, eschewing the GT car norm, McLaren’s latest offering is set to be mid-engined, rather than front-engined. Unusual though it may be, McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt has full confidence in the typically supercar-esque setup, as when speaking to Top Gear earlier in the year, he claimed that “when you drive it, I guarantee you won’t wish the engine was in the front. It’s not a cut-down saloon car.”

Further claims about the new model include that it will weight in at less than 1,500kg – a significant reduction over its competitors thanks to its carbon tub – and that around 70 per cent of the car will be brand new and model-specific, including every external body panel.

Not a lot more is known about the McLaren GT at this stage, although the company has released a teaser image of the rear of the car seen at the top of this article, along with a teaser video which we have included below, along with a couple of screenshots from it.

Keen McLaren fans will note that the upcoming GT won’t exactly be the first time the company has built a Grand Tourer, as it was jointly involved in the development of and made responsible for building the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren between 2003-10, although this is the first time they’ll be going it alone, of course.

McLaren’s official reveal for its new GT is currently slated for next week on Wednesday May 15 at 1pm BST, equating to 10pm AEST.